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A man was today (October 24) fined $6,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Court for contravening four conditions of the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) under the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance.
The court heard that the Office of the Licensing Authority of Home Affairs Department inspected a clubhouse in Mong Kok in May this year.
Officers noted that all guests in the premises were not members of the clubhouse and that the layout of the clubhouse had been altered without permission. The investigation team also found that the CoC and updated membership register of the clubhouse could not be produced for inspection.
The man, who was the CoC holder of the clubhouse, was in contravention of the Conditions 2 and 3 as well as Special Conditions 1 and 2 of the CoC. He was subsequently charged under section 21(2) of the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance.
Under the ordinance, a "club" means any corporation which provides services for its members and has a clubhouse of which only its members and their accompanied guests have the right of use. If a club which serves food and drink also entertains non-members (as opposed to a controlled number of members and their accompanied guests only), the premises concerned should be subject to regulations which are applicable to general food businesses.
The department will continue to take strict enforcement action against businesses which disguise themselves as clubs and other non-compliance cases.
Ends/Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:02
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